MI6 WAS forced to halt a spying operation after it lost secret electronic equipment worth tens of thousands of pounds and intelligence records in a suspected arson attack. The incident followed the falling-out of MI6 and the Croatian security service, the third time in recent years that Britain’s overseas security service has found itself in a turf war with a foreign counterpart. A surveillance vehicle loaded with eavesdropping equipment was extensively damaged after it was torched while parked in a supposedly secure area next to a hotel in a suburb of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. MI6 blames disaffected members of...

Historically, the AR15/M16 has not been without controversy and critics. As a military rifle, during early use in the Vietnam War, the M16 suffered from functioning problems due to a change in propellants and improper training of soldiers regarding cleaning and maintenance. Lessons were learned, refinements made and the M16 platform evolved into one of the most prominent firearms in military history. However, the M16 to this day is not without criticism, not so much due to the rifle, but because of the 5.56 NATO cartridge, that lacks the long-range effectiveness of the 7.62 NATO cartridge used in the M14...

The Last “Big Lie” of Vietnam Kills U. S. Soldiers in Iraq August 24th, 2004 At a Vietnam Special Forces base during 1964, I watched a U. S. soldier fire 15 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition into a tethered goat from an AR-15 rifle; moments after the last round hit, the goat fell over. Looking at the dead goat, I saw many little bullet entry-holes on one side; and when we turned him over, I saw many little bullet exit-holes on the other side. Over time, those observations were confirmed and reconfirmed, revealing that the stories we were told on...

Note: this is No. 2 in a series that will be exploring Kerry-tales. Please add your links for this item.Previous Episodes: KERRY-TALE NO. 1 - John O'Neill is a Republican operative =================================================== Quote from John Kerry's testimony before Congress: I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. That is an interesting quote. Unfortunately, it is a lie. Kerry claims that his first Purple Heart was earned during a nighttime patrol, when his group was attempting to stop the Vietcong from transporting contraband....

CHARLESTON (AP) -- Hundreds of machine gun owners plan to meet at a remote, abandoned strip-mine site near Shinnston this weekend to shoot their weapons. ''We call it 'Thunder in the Hills,' '' said Frank Watson, the event's promoter. ''Basically, it's a chance for machine gun owners to spend three days shooting lead and shooting the bull.'' Billed as a ''shoot and show,'' the event is open to owners of all types of automatic firearms. Military buffs will get a chance to see everything from the British-made Lewis gun of World War I to the M-60 now used by the...

WAVE OF THE FUTURE: The XM-8 Battle Rifle Question: Can you build an all-purpose battle rifle that can change colors, barrels, and weapons packages on the fly, comes equipped with a grenade launcher and shotgun that can take out Sigourney Weaver's aliens, and jams far less frequently than the M-16? Answer: The new XM-8 rifle by Heckler and Koch. Photo by Heckler & Koch, USA For almost 40 years, the M-16 5.56mm combat rifle, in all its incarnations, has served as the United States military's primary battle rifle. To give you an idea of how long a time...

(New York-WABC, November 26, 2003) — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are vowing to find out why the military is issuing a gun lubricant that many soldiers claim causes their weapons to jam, and endangers their lives. It's a problem Eyewitness News first told you about last week. The Investigators' Jim Hoffer broke the story and joins us now with more on what is being done to fix the problem. One lawmaker is calling for public hearings after seeing our investigation, and a U.S. senator is demanding answers from the Pentagon. They want to know why, as we first reported, soldiers...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - After nearly 40 years of battlefield service around the globe, the M-16 may be on its way out as the standard Army assault rifle because of flaws highlighted during the invasion and occupation of Iraq (news - web sites). U.S. officers in Iraq say the M-16A2 — the latest incarnation of the 5.56 mm firearm — is quietly being phased out of front-line service because it has proven too bulky for use inside the Humvees and armored vehicles that have emerged as the principal mode of conducting patrols since the end of major fighting on May 1....

(New York-WABC, November 18, 2003) — In a four-month investigation that reaches from the sands of Iraq to the halls of the Pentagon, we found that weapons given to tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers may not work in the desert. All because of a defective product. And it could be putting American troops at risk. The Investigators' Jim Hoffer is here with his findings. The key to surviving any war is to have a weapon that works. To that end a good, reliable gun lubricant is critical. But our investigation has found that a lubricant supplied by the military...

image clickable Innovation in automatic and semiautomatic rifles is fairly rare these days; the item pictured above is sort of a breath of fresh air along such lines. Kel-tec (www.kel-tec.com) has been a manufacturer of automatic pistols for some time and this appears to be their first foray into rifles. It uses the bolt mechanism of the M16 with a piston rather than the standard gas mechanism and since this lets the spring be in the front of the rifle rather than run through the butt stock, the rifle can fold and be carried in a napsack or some...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Oct. 2, 2003) -- CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. From the days of Marines wielding muskets, to the current day fully automatic machine guns, weapons in the Marine Corps continue to change to accommodate the needs of battle. The Marine Corps is now adding a new chapter to the history of its service rifles. For the first time since being chosen as the Marine Corps future rifle, Marines assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment here were issued and fired their new M-16A4 service rifles recently. The M-16A4, the fourth generation of the M-16 service rifle, has been in the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces searching a car after a shootout near a checkpoint recovered two M-16 rifles belonging to American soldiers abducted and killed north of Baghdad in June, the U.S. military said Monday. The soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division found the rifles in the trunk of a car stopped after a firefight late Sunday, said Lt. Col. George Krivo, coalition military spokesman. Shots were exchanged when the red sedan tried to run a checkpoint about 30 miles north of Baghdad, near the town of Balad, he said. One Iraqi in the car was killed, and three others...

US to Send Kalashnikovs to Iraq VOA - To some, it might sound like shipping oil to an OPEC member or ice to Antarctica but, as the Pentagon says there are good reasons why it's planning to send AK-47 firearms to Iraq. In Iraq, hardly a day goes by that the U.S. military doesn't report finding AK-47s - sometimes just handfuls, sometimes dozens, sometimes hundreds. There is no total, but Pentagon officials say the numbers are in the thousands, perhaps the tens of thousands. Despite this, the Baghdad-based, U.S. run Coalition Provisional Authority has been soliciting bids from arms dealers...

<p>The American occupation authority in Iraq will equip the country's new army and police forces with Russian-design AK-47 assault rifles, officials said Friday.</p>
<p>Bidding closed Friday for a contract to buy 34,000 of the rifles.</p>
<p>The purchased weapons will supplement thousands of AK-47s seized in raids and other operations since the war started in Iraq in March.</p>

(IsraelNN.com) The Defense Ministry has decided to begin the changeover from the M-16 to the Israel Military Industries Tavor T.A.R.-21 assault rifle. The weapon will be distributed to army infantry units. The first order calls for 15,000 pieces.

U.S. forces rolled over the Iraqi military in just weeks. The plans seemed flawless, and the courage of the soldiers and Marines unflappable. But with the dust settling — and the adrenaline rush of battle now subsiding — military officials are finding some weapons performed as advertised. Others, however, let troops down when they needed them most. Army and Marine officials recently released after-action reports compiling what was right and what was wrong about the small arms with which troops squared off against Iraqi forces. Soldiers and Marines rated the rifles and pistols they carried into battle, and not all...

Several soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company could not defend themselves or their comrades March 23 because their weapons malfunctioned while they sustained a lengthy fire attack by Iraqis near Nasiriyah, Iraq, according to a U.S. Army report on the ambush. The weapons that jammed or otherwise failed included a M-249 machine gun called a SAW (squad automatic weapon), a .50 caliber machine gun, as well as several M-16 rifles. The M-16 is the Army's standard issue weapon. The report is not conclusive about why up to three different kinds of weapons failed and suggests that the "malfunctions may have...

Posted on Sat, Apr. 05, 2003 Fort Riley soldier's idea keeps weapons workingAn oil-based lubricant for guns is like a magnet for dust and sand in the desert. One soldier found a synthetic substitute.BY TIM POTTERThe Wichita Eagle FORT RILEY - As they head to war in Iraq, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 13th Armor, carry 1-ounce bottles of orange liquid that could save their lives.They contain a synthetic lubricant that keeps pistols, rifles and machine guns working in the desert sand and dust, which can coat, clog and wear any mechanism.The tank battalion, part of the 3rd...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 13 The Eagle Nebula for CFHT Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT Explanation: Bright blue stars are still forming in the dark pillars of the Eagle Nebula. Made famous by a picture from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, the Eagle Nebula shows the dramatic process of star formation. To the upper right of the nebula in the above picture lies the heart...

NATIONAL GUN CONTROL FREAKS HAVE LAUNCHED THEIR FREE MEDIA BASED ATTACKS ON AMERICAN SEMI-AUTO RIFLE GUNOWNERS!! CSPAN2 LIve SIMULCAST now! Saying he is a former "Marine and U.S. Congressman from Montgomery County, Maryland", Michael Barnes of the Brady Campaign to ban guns just declared that M16-like semiautomatic .223 rifles similar to what the shooter used "have no place in civilian hands". Michael Barnes just claimed that semi-auto black rifles are mainly being sold to "criminals." Bushmaster, AR-15 owners especially should take note! Jon Cowan, "Americans for Gun Safety" Executive Director is now blabbing about "centrist, moderate positions" on "gun safety."...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 11 Inside the Eagle Nebula Credit & Copyright: T. A. Rector & B. A. Wolpa, NOAO, AURA, NSF Explanation: From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look of the Eagle Nebula, however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster...